AT&T snags OnStar wireless contract

BARCELONA, Spain (AP) — AT&T Inc. is scoring a win over rival Verizon Wireless as it takes over the contract to supply wireless connections to cars with General Motors' OnStar service.

Verizon Wireless and its predecessor companies have supplied the network for OnStar since the service launched in the 1990s, but AT&T will take over with the 2015 model year, AT&T and GM said today.

The news comes as cellphone companies are jostling to connect non-phone devices to their networks. Now that nearly everyone has a phone, phone companies have to look elsewhere for growth. Dallas-based AT&T has been particularly aggressive in this area.

AT&T will connect OnStar cars to its new "4G LTE" network, which can supply much higher data speeds than current OnStar connections. That means GM could deliver software updates wirelessly instead of making owners take their cars to the shop. It also could enable video streaming for passengers, in-vehicle Wi-Fi "hotspots" and give GM a better view of what's going on inside a car and whether it needs maintenance.

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